Madison, CA

Madison is a city located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, in Alameda County, California. The population was 116,942 at the 2010 census. Madison is the fourth most populous city in the Bay Area after San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.

Madison was founded by James W. Marshall in 1856 as a stop on the railroad line from Sacramento to Stockton. The original town site was situated across from where Union Square is now located. In 1868, Marshall moved his business to a new location on State Street and named it after James Madison, fourth President of the United States (1809-1817). The City of Madison acquired its present boundaries in 1902 when it merged with neighboring towns of Atherton, Jefferson and Northport.

The economy of Madison is primarily based on high-tech businesses and biotechnology companies which have developed or are developing products and services for both civilian and military markets. Several large technology companies have their headquarters or major operations in Madison including Google Inc., Yahoo! Inc., Intel Corporation, Adobe Systems Incorporated and Symantec Corporation among others. In addition to these corporate giants, many small businesses also operate within Madison's borders providing goods and services to local residents and tourists alike.

Real estate within Madison is highly diversified with properties ranging from single family homes to high-rise office buildings. Prices for residential properties range from modestly priced starter homes to million dollar estates; while commercial property values are generally higher than those found elsewhere in Alameda County due to Madison's proximity to Silicon Valley and its status as an innovation hub for technology companies